... from my former Las Vegas cohort, Henry Brean, who was assigned to do a dull-sounding story on an earthquake preparedness drill being planned for Sin City. Here's his lede:
Experts believe Nevada is due for a major earthquake, so they penciled one in for Thursday.
Infinitely
better than a straight lede, right? It's not enough to have a story
that's interesting, relevant and useful; we also have to present the
story in a way that emphasizes that interest, relevance and utility.
It's fun and creative but it's not hyped up and it's not made up; it's still true to the facts, and it properly sets context.
If people won't engage content, then the content isn't
journalism. To paraphrase my predecessor as State News adviser, Perry Parks,
journalism is the art of making important news interesting.
That's what we do. So let's go out and do it.
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